Cal Crutchlow thinks a look to the past gives the answer to how the racing can improve in MotoGP.
One hope for the 2027 MotoGP regulations is that they will improve the class’ racing, but Cal Crutchlow thinks the answer lies in the past.
MotoGP’s racing had become increasingly criticised since 2023 when the enforcement of the front tyre pressure rule became more strict, with time penalties added after Sprints and grands prix for riders who were found to have run illegally low tyre pressures.
The consequence for the racing was that riders would suffer with over-pressure tyres instead, made worse by following another rider, which meant overtaking became more difficult.
The 2027 rules aim to improve this by removing ride height devices and reducing aerodynamics, plus the new tyre manufacturer, Pirelli, could bring a front tyre that provides performance that is more resilient to pressure changes.
But Cal Crutchlow thinks the answer to MotoGP’s racing problem lies in the past.
“What it is at the minute is these guys can’t pass each other because they’re so on the limit,” said Crutchlow in an interview with Crash.net’s sister site Visordown.
“I know what would make the racing better, they just go back to the old tyre where you had to manage it.
“Now you don’t have to manage it, that’s why nobody can pass – everyone just goes at 100 per cent all the time.
“Whereas before, 2015 to 2020, you had to manage the tyres.
“I’m not saying it was the best rider that won, but you had to manage the race, manage the tyres, and they were more difficult to ride.
“That’s why there were so many more passes in the race.”
The bike Crutchlow has in 2026, the LCR Honda vacated by Johann Zarco after his Catalunya class, is drastically different to what he started with in MotoGP in 2011, thanks to the development of aerodynamics and the introduction of ride height devices from the end of 2019.
For the three-time MotoGP winner, it’s the physical power required by the bikes that has changed the most from2011 to 2026.
“The physicality of them,” Crutchlow said. “With the aerodynamics, they’ve got that much downforce the things are glued to the floor.